Over the past 18 years, Marvel Studios has focused as much on the continuity of its ongoing mega-story as it’s focused on the content of any given superhero film. The 23-film Infinity Saga was never just about individual movie narratives — it was about the buildup to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the two-part blockbuster event that brought the entire sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe together for one grand battle royale. Once the Infinity Saga wrapped with 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel had to find a new central organizing factor, a way to give all the crossovers, cataclysmic conflicts, and multiverse mayhem some meaning.
That process has been bumpy, and it’s left Marvel with a lot of loose ends, hints, and promises of sagas to come, which have become difficult to keep track of. So in case you ever find yourself wondering, Hey, whatever happened to Charlize Theron's character in that one Doctor Strange flick? or Wait, Harry Styles was in a Marvel movie?, here’s a helpful rundown of all the cliffhangers and post-credits sequences that Marvel hasn’t fully paid off yet. [Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for almost every Marvel Studios project from 2021 through Avengers: Doomsday] In a mid-credits scene, Wong summons Shang-Chi/Shaun (Simu Liu) and Katy (Awkwafina) to Kamar-Taj. There, they meet Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers — who teleconference in as holograms — to discuss the origins of Shang-Chi’s superpowered rings.
The rings, our Avengers pals say, are an ancient beacon transmitting an unknown message to an unknown recipient. In a post-credits scene, Shaun’s sister, Xialing (Meng’er Zhang), is revealed to be the new leader of the Ten Rings organization, despite saying that she would disband it. Xialing is modernizing the group and making it gender-inclusive.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton is said to be working on a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but Cretton has been busy with Spider-Man: Brand New Day and has a Naruto movie to make. Simu Liu is confirmed to reprise his role as Shang-Chi in Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. What we don’t know yet is who or what the magical rings are calling out to. (Fin Fang Foom, perhaps?) The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s new Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), was stripped of his title as the star-spangled superman after a botched mission.
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), formerly known as The Falcon, becomes the new Captain America — and is clearly superior, because he can fly. But Walker gets a new costume and a new identity, the U.S. Agent, thanks to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).
During the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s revealed that Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) has evolved from SHIELD super-spy to the mysterious Power Broker. In the end, however, she’s pardoned by the U.S. government for crimes committed during the events of Captain America: Civil War and is offered a position at the CIA. She’s later shown having a conversation about selling government secrets, weapons, and technology — you know, real Power Broker stuff.
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